For swamped village, there was a doctor in the house

Page Tools

Sian Hughes, a Melbourne pediatrician, has stayed in Sri Lanka to help survivors.Photo: Rebecca Hallas

It began as a regular family holiday in Sri Lanka - until giant
waves crashed into the beachside guest house where Elwood couple
Sian Hughes and Tony Heselev were staying in the country's
south.

Most of their belongings were destroyed by the torrent that came
rushing in over their upstairs balcony. But the family escaped
unscathed.

In the following days, as Mr Heselev took care of their three
children, Dr Hughes - a pediatrician - helped treat hundreds of
injured in the Unawatuna resort area.

After asking people to donate medical supplies, Dr Hughes and an
Irish doctor set up a makeshift clinic at an undamaged hotel, the
Rock House. The children had torn up sheets for bandages and, armed
with some basic medicine, including antibiotics, the doctors
treated up to 200 people.

"It was a blessing that I was there . . . because we were really
the only two doctors," Dr Hughes said. "Anybody would have done the
same in those circumstances."

Mr Heselev says his wife was "absolutely heroic". In the 72
hours after the earthquake she had about three hours' sleep,
between treating the injured at the hotel, making "house calls" and
being a mother to Sam, 11, Rosie, 10, and six-year-old Matilda.

At one point her son begged her to leave her work to speak to
Rosie, who was getting upset. "I looked at him and said, 'Sam what
can I do?' because there was this line of people standing there
waiting to have quite nasty injuries bandaged up."

The Rock House became a refuge for locals and about 130 tourists
from countries including Britain, Germany and New Zealand,
providing food, shelter and water before most were evacuated
midweek.

"The locals provided all the food at their own expense," Dr
Hughes said. "They cooked us rice and dahl, which kept us going -
but my children never want to see rice and dahl again."

The family left Unawatuna on Wednesday and are trying to enjoy
what remains of their holiday exploring inland Sri Lanka.

But the event has left its mark. Mr Heselev, a journalist, has
been having difficulty sleeping; Rosie describes it as "probably
the scariest thing in my life".

Dr Hughes has also had flashbacks that include two dead babies,
the dead waiter who was to serve them breakfast that day, and the
anguish of parents who had lost their children. "Everyone I met who
lost a child says, 'I couldn't hold him, he went out of my hands,
it was my fault . . .' and that was what really cut you up."

The couple plan to set up a charity with others from the Rock
House called "Friends of Unawatuna" to help rebuild the community.
Sam says the event has left him "a bit shaken", but believes the
family will return to the devastated beach resort. "We feel we have
a special connection now," he said.